Arnott's fined for making misleading claims, but they're not the only one

Sarah is a lifestyle writer and travel blogger who can often be found loitering in a cafe with a pot of tea and a good book. Over the last eight years Sarah has lived and worked abroad in the United Kingdom, Spain and Colombia and has tr...

Advocacy group calls out brands with false claims on their packaging

Biscuit and snack company Arnott’s have been fined more than $50,000 this week for including misleading information on their Shapes packaging.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) passed on the fine because Arnott's placed false and misleading information on its packaging about the level of fat contained in the snack, in breach of Australian consumer law.

But Arnott's isn't the only company which has pulled the wool over their consumers' eyes. Australia's leading consumer advocacy group, Choice, has created an entire awards system called the Shonky Awards which aims to put the spotlight on brands and products who haven't been so clear, or so honest, with their claims.

Here are a few brands to look out for:

1. S26 Gold Toddler and Junior milk powder

S26 was on the receiving end of a Shonky Award because of the pressure they put on parents to continue to buy milk powder for children over the age of 1, even though that particular milk formula isn't necessary for kids in that age group.

2. Peanut butter-flavoured Tim Tams

When a biscuit is said to be peanut butter-flavoured, you'd expect to see some actual peanut butter in there, right? Unfortunately, that's just not the case for these biscuits, which actually have no traces of peanuts at all. That might be good news for people with nut allergies, but not so good for anyone else.

3. Arnott's Tiny Teddies

Uh-oh, Arnott's are at it again. This time they received a Shonky for placing their own health logo on Tiny Teddies. The logo says the snack meets school canteen guidelines. The ACCC said they were slapped with the award for associating a sugary snack with a healthy diet. "We don't think Arnott's should be flogging confectionery to kids claiming it's healthy," Choice said.

4. Kmart swimmers

It's not just food and biscuits that get slapped with Shonky Awards, Kmart were also under fire last year for their line of swimwear. It was the disclaimers on the swimwear that was the real cause for concern. It included things like: avoid water unless you want your cossie to go see-through, steer clear of sunscreen because that will ruin the material and don't even think about getting in a heated pool, because that's no good for your swimmers either. Basically, you can't do anything in your swimmers that you originally bought them for.

5. IKEA furniture

Even furniture has been cracked down upon by the consumer watchdog, with home wares giant IKEA even coming under scrutiny. Unfortunately, they were selling plastic couches under the leather section of the website, which was misleading to the public, too. At least we can always rely on the meatballs.